Motor Calculations and

Power Budgets
Pat Willoughby
Jaime Werkmeister
March 18, 2003
Motor
n What motor are we using?
q Manufacturer: Mabuchi Motors at
http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/english/
q Part Number: RC-260RA-2670
q Operating Voltage: 4.5V (but can run at 6V)
Step 1 Determine Your System
n Choose the speed that you would like the
output action to occur at.
q This is not the output of the motor, but whatever
action you are doing (eg. Spinning a wheel)
q Remember v=*r for a linear motion like a wheel
turning
n Choose the time span you would like the
action to occur in.
n Determine any frictional coefficients, weights,
diameters, forces, inertia that will be applied
to the system.
The Velocity Time Profile
n Plan your speeds on a velocity vs. time profile plot
n Trapezoidal profile is one of the most efficient (83%)
n 1/3 time for acceleration, 1/3 time for constant
speed, and 1/3 time for deceleration.
n You choose what t
a
and t
d
are. A good first estimate
is t
c
/3. where t
c
is a given time the motor will be
running.
Step 2 Determine the Torque
n Three regimes from the Trapezoidal Profile
1. Inertia Limited (Acceleration)
2. Friction Limited
3. Inertia Limited (Deceleration)
ta td
tc
V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y
Time
3
2
1
First Regime Inertia Limited
n When you first apply power to a motor, the dominant
torque is from trying to accelerate the inertia to the
desired speed.
q Think of accelerating your car out of a stop light, but
without burning rubber.
n Motor has to accelerate in time t
a
to a certain velocity
for a rotational motion or v for a linear motion.
n T = J* = m*a*r
q Know or v and know t
a
=> can find acceleration for
the rotation or linear motion.
q For a car, it is easiest to use T = m*a*r with mass of
car and acceleration desired.
q For a platter spinner, it is easiest to use T = J* with
inertia of platter and wheel and desired acceleration.
Second Regime Friction Limited
n Friction is always present and always works
against your applied force.
n Sources of friction in and on your machine:
q Dynamic friction
q External passive loads
n Pulling pucks
n Pushing balls
q External active loads
n Battlebots
Friction Fun
n Dynamic friction
q This is the hodge-podge friction that covers what happens but
cant be predicted easily
q Includes internal friction of motor and bearings, odd shapes of
parts, and the actual friction force applied at the wheels (NOT
the force from static or kinematic coefficients of friction).
n External passive loads
q This is the force your machine must apply to move things on
the table, including balls, pucks, other robots, etc.
q Based on weight of object and its static coefficient of friction.
n External active loads
q This is the force your machine must apply to actively push
another machine around. At this case, you want to apply full
frictional capacity of the wheels without slipping.
Friction Fun
n So why not use F=
s
*n?
n This is the no-slip condition.
n This condition means that the wheels are applying the maximum
force they can apply before they spin without applying any force.
n This is a lotta force which requires a whole lotta power from your
motors!! This condition will cause your motor to fail by one of two
ways:
1. Traction failure (T > *N*r) burning rubber! Your wheels will spin
at the maximum speed, but no power or force is applied.
2. Torque failure (T > T
stall
) - Stall means the motors are applying their
maximum torque with no speed.
q Maximum torque = maximum current = maximum heat = melting
wires after too long.
q Melting wires means magic smoke pours out of your motor! Magic
smoke means the motor has gone to a happier place and you have
to buy a new motor.
Friction and Force Examples
n Imagine pushing your car up an incline plane.
How much force does it take to push you up
the hill?
n Now you are on a flat surface. How much
force does it take to push you?
Third Regime Inertia Limited
n Now you must apply torque to stop your inertia
q Think of slamming on the brakes when you miss a stop sign,
but without leaving tire marks on the road.
n Motor has to decelerate in time t
d
to a certain velocity
for a rotational motion or v for a linear motion.
n T = J* = m*a*r
q Know or v and know t
d
=> can find deceleration for the
rotation or linear motion.
q For a car, it is easiest to use T = m*a*r with mass of car and
acceleration desired. For a platter spinner, it is easiest to use
T = J* with inertia of platter and wheel and desired
deceleration.
n This may not be important for spinning the platter if
you are spinning it around, but it is very important for
oscillating the platter. It is also very important for
stopping your machine before you fall into the chasm!
Step 3 Whats the Power?
n Determine Power of system:
Power = Torque x Rotational Speed
= Force x Linear Speed
n What torque and speed do I use?
q Based on the velocity profile and friction
considerations, calculate the torque or force and
speed for each regime.
q Figure out the power in each regime.
q Pick the largest power as the most conservative.
n Quick sanity check your motors can supply 2W
Step 4 Gear Ratios
n First order estimate without knowing gear train:
q Assume gear ratio efficiency is 50%
(this is the worst case with some room to play)
q So set the torque output of the motor to 2X the
worst case torque from above.
n If you know your exact gear train and frictional
situation, you can figure out an accurate
estimate of the efficiency.
n Plots for the Tamiya motor kit on the website
account for frictional loss and inertia of the
included gear box.
Step 5 Find the Torque on Curves
n Go to the torque speed curve for the motor
alone (see website) or for the motor with the
appropriate gear box (see web if you know
your ratio)
Step 6 Find the Actual Motor Speed
n Find on the chart corresponding to your design
torque (motor data can be N in rpm)
n Check to see how closely it matches your original
estimate.
n If you cannot get close to the speed you want,
backup and try looking at using the gear box.
Step 7 Find the Motor Current
n Find current I on the chart corresponding to
your design torque
n You can also see how efficient the motor is
for your case
Step 8 Total Current Draw
n We know the current from one motor.
n Are there any other motors running?
q If yes, calculate the current (starting from step 1)
for each of those motors.
n Are you using solenoids?
q If yes, check web for more info.
Step 9 Total Currents
n Sum up all of the currents that will be used at
the same time. This will require that you plan
out when your motors will be actuated.
q I
total
=I
1
+I
2
+. . .+I
N
Step 10 Battery Power!
n Now look at the battery.
q We know P=I*V
n I is current and V is voltage
n From the battery pack the max amount of voltage is 6
volts
n So power is 6*I
total
where I
total
is from step 9.
Step 11 How the Battery Cell Works
n Note: A battery cell is a voltage source with a resistor in series. This
resistor will burn off some voltage before you can use it. Cell data (see
lecture notes on web) present examples of this curves as current is
drawn from the cell.
n Check to see if the cells can output this much.
q We know V=I*R. Solving for current we get: I=V/R.
q Since there are 6 cells are in series, they have the same amount of current
running through each of them. Since there are two of these cells in parallel,
the total output current is twice this amount.
q The current in one cell is I=1.5/0.18 = 8 Amps where 0.18 ohms is the
internal resistance of a cell. Using this current value, the cells are capable of
8A*1.5V = 12 W per cell or 72 W per 6 cells or 144 W for the whole lot of
cells.
q BUT, this is the maximum possible current. At this current, no voltage is
being supplied and nothing will work. Also, the cells will get reallllly hot at
this much current drain. Remember, a soldering iron is more than 15 W or
that a 40 W light bulb gets real hot real quick! Normal battery cells wont
work even close to this amperage.
q So, when the battery begins drawing current, it loses voltage across the
resistor. Therefore, the maximum voltage is when only a little current is
drawn.
Step 11 How the Battery Cell Works
n Still checking to see if this works:
q Combining the equation of current and power produces a
general formula for power:
n P=(Battery voltage-((internal resistance)*current))*current
n What is the maximum amount of current from the
cells?
q Occurs when the internal resistance = external resistance.
n Pmax=(battery voltage)/(internal resistance*N cells).
q Max current for one set of six cells is:
n (9V - 4.8V)/(0.18 ohms*6)
(4.8V is minimum voltage required for control system to operate)
n 3.88 Amps although you want to run at less. . .
Step 12
n Reiterate if things dont work out
q Perhaps change your rotational speed or some
other guestimated value.
Power Budget Structure
Power in Batteries
Motor 1 Motor 2 Motor 3 Motor 4
Gear Box 1 Gear Box 2 Gear Box 3 Gear Box 4
Output 1 Output 2 Output 3 Output 4
Solenoid
Transmission
Output 5
To do a complete power budget, you should be able to fill in
force, torque, velocity, power and energy in each of the
above blocks, as required for your design. Also, you may
have additional blocks for triggers which you will have to
consider.
Power Supply Elements
n Motors
q Torque * angular speed or force * linear speed
n Spring
q Torsional
n Force * distance/time
q Extension
n Force * distance/time
n Solenoid
q Force * stroke/time
n Batteries
q Current * voltage
n Piston
q Force * distance/time
Power and Energy Budgets
n How much power are you using at one time?
q P
total
=P
motor
+P
spring
+P
solenoid
+P
piston
q P
battery
>=P
motor
+P
solenoid
+P
piston
n How much energy are you using?
q Energy cells > total energy require by system
n Energy = Power *time